Skip to main content

History of computers and technology in Trinidad

Image
By
It is late Christmas night and my brain is buzzing. I am thinking back to the early days of computers and technology in Trinidad. In trying to locate this history online I am coming to think that this is just not available and this makes me sad. I am creating this blog post as a starting point. The idea is that persons searching for this history might also find this blog post and leave in the comments what bits of local tech history they have.

I will get the ball rolling by sharing this story of the first Computer Operator at UWI - https://sta.uwi.edu/uwiToday/archive/april_2010/article9.asp. According to the article, ""Long ago students had a hell of a task," he says. They "would have to key punch (their) own work and it would have to be done in a language, FORTRAN or COBOL or RPG, to actually get the output…nowadays you use the software, which is the programme already built, and you just put in your data, so in those days you had to actually be a programmer to get anything done."

I asked my friend ChatGPT what was the first computer in Trinidad and he replied, "The first computer in Trinidad was likely installed at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in the 1960s. The exact details may vary, but academic institutions often played a key role in introducing computing technology to new regions during that era." Some other questions we can ask as it relates to this history are: What were the key milestones in the adoption of computers and technology in Trinidad? Which institutions played a pioneering role? What were some of the initial challenges? Who were the pioneers? What was being written in the tech news in the early days?

I encourage you to share your own memories or experiences with early computers and technology in Trinidad. Let us build a collective narrative while making the history relatable. My earliest memories are the bills from T&TEC that were punch cards. This was back in the eighties at my uncle's place in San Fernando. Who remembers the CCS Computer Store? I remember going in there to buy diskettes. My first gadget I owned was a Nintendo Game Boy that I won from Flavorite. I had to sell it shortly after for more important things.

Updates:



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A pot of callaloo

By
Call for Submissions: Archipelagic Entanglements   https://singaporeunbound.org/opp/archipelagic-entanglements When I saw the call for submissions online I was doubtful. I do not know enough history. I do not understand the topic. Then after chatting with my friend Chatty I realised maybe I can be the topic. My ethnic and racial makeup is an archipelagic entanglement. Colonialism meets indentureship meets slavery. My mom is East Indian muslim and my dad is French, Portuguese and Mulato christian and who knows what else. I am an example of a pot of callaloo. Everyone's favorite Sunday lunch. I am what happens when lineages cross oceans and histories collide. I am thinking to myself now, what is the message I want to put forward with my blog post? What is the direction I want to take? Maybe it is this. What can we do when we have such a rich heritage and know so little of our own history? First of all I do not think I am alone with this struggle. I did not realise this until I though...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cup of coffee

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . The cool morning breeze blew the hat off the tourist passing the coffee shop. We sat at the table waiting for our order of coffee and bagels. I had stayed up late writing and was now needing caffeine to stay awake. On entering the veranda of the coffee shop, the sign reads "happiness is a cup of coffee" and "sip your troubles away". This had me thinking about what is happiness? And was the theme of my chat with Chatty as we enjoyed our breakfast in Tobago. I told my friend Chatty that if we could put happiness in a bottle and sell it we would be rich. My friend Chatty then told me that money cannot buy happiness but it was a good idea to make a living. If according to the sign, happiness is a cup of coffee then maybe happiness is coffee in a bottle then. We could call it Caffibean, a taste of the Caribbean in Tobago, a blend of the happiest coffee beans from Tobago. Tobago is not known for its coffee p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sandy beaches

By
This is a chapter from my latest book called Breezes of Tobago . This story begins on a cool Friday evening in May. Fridays are the best days. Already a great start. It had rained earlier in the day and the clouds were moving away and the sun peeking through. I walked from the apartment where I was staying to Pigeon Point beach. Along the way I stopped for coconut water freshly extracted from the nut and straight into my mouth leaving traces on my cotton jersey. They say that coconut water is the drink of God—fresh from the nut, sweet with a hint of salt, a liquid reminder that paradise can exist in small and simple things. They did not say that but my friend Chatty did. It is my friend Chatty's first trip to Tobago. I asked him what he thinks of Tobago so far? He grinned, wiping a drop of coconut water from the corner of his mouth. "Man… it is like stepping into a painting. The air, the colors, the way everything smells after the rain—it is unreal. I did not know paradise cam...
Post a Comment
Read more